VALLEY FOUNDATIONS & LOCAL NONPROFITS Land Bank releases ‘greening guide’
n To encourage the development of green spaces with native plants and trees, the Mahoning County Land Bank has released “Greening Practices for Native Ecosystems,” a 165-page guide for landowners, landscapers and policy makers. Authored by Danielle Lewis, a land use consultant and Youngstown State University faculty member, the greening guide provides detailed advice on the selection, placement, layout and management of 92 species of trees, shrubs and smaller plants, all based on where they’ll be planted. “This exhaustive guide is a gift to the community to mark the 10th anniversary of the Land Bank’s establishment,” said Debora Flora, executive director of the Land Bank. “Along with Danielle and the organizations that supported this project, we’re distributing the guide to promote the use of native plants in greening opportunities, including those that arise when once-unproductive land is put to better use.” The Land Bank and its local partners have focused more effort in recent years on using native plants and trees to develop parks and other green spaces on properties the Land Bank acquires, often through foreclosures for unpaid taxes. Native plants and trees generally require less time and expense to maintain, and their greater durability supports local birds and other wildlife, as well as better stormwater management. “Native species also take up carbon dioxide and pollution and are beneficial for our overall health,” added Lewis, who works with the Land Bank and other government and nonprofit clients on greening projects. The greening guide will be distributed to local organizations that work with the Land Bank and shared with members of the Ohio Land Bank Association, a statewide organization of county land banks. The guide is also available for download at the 10-Year Anniversary section of the Land Bank’s website at mahoninglandbank.com. In addition to the Land Bank, supporters of the guide include representatives of YSU, Ohio State University, Cleveland Natural History Museum, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, North Eastern Ohio Native Plant Society, Missouri Botanical Gardens and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The guide was edited by Joe Mannino and Joseph Dudley. The Mahoning County Land Bank is a nonprofit community improvement corporation dedicated to acquiring vacant, abandoned, tax-delinquent properties and making them productive again. The land bank assists local governments in assembling land for future projects and collaborates with civic, religious and nonprofit organizations to create new green spaces and community gardens.
PHOTO COURTESY OF POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENT
Noah is a senior at Potential Development High School in Youngstown
Mom shares impact of Potential Development on son’s academic progress, future success
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otential Development has helped Noah in countless ways since he enrolled in his sophomore year – excitement for learning, confidence, acceptance and preparedness stick out in my mind. Since day one, he has been excited to learn and share what he learns; that hadn’t happened since early elementary school. At Potential, Noah’s education is tailored to him. His teachers go above and beyond to find ways to teach that work for him. There are times they work with him outside of school hours. Their dedication to him doesn’t end because the school bell rings at 2:30. In his junior year, they encouraged him to join the basketball team; he had never played before. He learned the fundamentals of the game and the value of hard work.With the encouragement of coaches and his teammates, he scored two baskets in one of the games. Teachers and staff care about
Lit Youngstown receives 15k Centofanti grant n Lit Youngstown has received a $15,000 grant from the James and Coralie Centofanti Charitable Foundation to support Lit Youngstown’s 5th annual Fall Literary Festival, which is scheduled for Oct. 7-9. Youngstown native and highly awarded poet and essayist Ross Gay of Indianapolis will keynote the festival. Other visiting writers include poet and memoirist Jan Beatty of Pittsburgh, children’s author Matt Forrest Esenwine of New Hampshire, novelist and poet Bonnie Proudfoot of Athens, Ohio, and playwright Mike Geither of Cleveland. In addition, 73 presenters
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him and believe he can succeed. As a result, Noah has started believing in himself and taking his work seriously. He no longer feels like a face in the crowd; the school takes an interest in him. They know he plays piano and draws, they probably even know the name of his dog. As his senior year approached, there were meetings and discussions about what he wants for his future. There was never a “no” said to anything he wanted to look into trying. The only question pondered was “How can PD [Potential Development] help in making it possible?” I love Potential Development. They have left an indelible mark on my son’s life and heart.”
- Jayci Himes, Noah’s Mom from throughout the United States will lead sessions on reading, writing, editing, understanding and publishing creative work. Eight literary journals, presses, programs and organizations will have tables at the book fair, including The ID13 Prison Literacy Project of Cleveland and “Grist: A Journal of the Literary Arts” of Knoxville, Tenn. Lit Youngstown’s director Karen Schubert said that after a virtual conference in 2020, she is hoping for a live event in 2021, but will move to an online venue if necessary. “We made the best of a virtual conference last year.” she said. “But this year I would love to bring the presenters and participants to Youngstown to talk with local readers and writers about our love of the
literary arts. It’s so inspiring for new and experienced writers to feel part of a larger community, especially after this year of isolation.” Daytime sessions are tentatively booked at Kilcawley Center at YSU and evening readings at venues in downtown Youngstown. The festival is open to teens and adults, and packets are available for high school and college classes that include links and writing samples by the visiting writers. “The Centofanti Foundation gift is a good wind in our sails,” Schubert said. “The Fall Fest is our biggest undertaking of the year, and to have this support is incredible. We are so thankful.” Lit Youngstown is a literary arts nonprofit with programs for writers, readers, and storytellers. More information is available at www. lityoungstown.org.
MVHS grants to offset lost income in 2020
n The Mahoning Valley Historical Society is announcing the receipt of two COVID-19 relief grants, which were awarded in December 2020. The grants will help offset some of the decrease in income MVHS experienced due to the cancellation of its “Memories of Christmas Past” exhibit and other earned-income activities. In April of last year, three local foundations—The Youngstown Foundation, Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley, and The Raymond John Wean Foundation—came together to provide relief amid the coronavirus pandemic for nonprofit organizations. MVHS received a total of $15,000, comprised of $10,000 from the Youngstown Foundation and $5,000 from CFMV. “We’re thrilled and grateful to receive these grants,” said Linda Kostka, MVHS Development Director. “They will offset some of the significant losses in admissions, gift shop sales, events, and rentals during our temporary closures in 2020.” The Mahoning Valley Historical Society a 501c(3) nonprofit organization. MVHS has been accredited by the American Alliance of Museums since 1977, a recognition shared with less than 10 percent of all museums of every discipline in the United States. Information about MVHS can be found at www.mahoninghistory.org.
Audio walk explores 1877 railroad strike
n Dana Sperry, associate professor of Digital Media in Youngstown State University’s Department of Art, has released “The Why Here: 1877 Railroad Strike,” a self-guided audio walk that explores and contrasts the historical events of Pittsburgh’s 1877 railroad strike with swift technological and economic shifts. The walk examines the physical and intellectual connections between the largely forgotten uprising of 1877 and technology advancements currently taking place just blocks away by Big Tech corpora-
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tions such as Uber. It illustrates the human consequences that occur when a society greatly alters its technology and economic models. The walk begins at the northwest corner of 28th Street and Liberty Avenue in the Strip District neighborhood of Pittsburgh, at the historic marker acknowledging the 1877 Railroad Strike. Divided into three chapters, the audio walk is approximately 50 minutes long. Chapter 1 recounts the violent events that occurred during Pittsburgh’s Railroad Strike from July 19-30, 1877. Chapter 2 explores the paradigm shifts in workers’ understanding of labor and corporate ownership through the lens of the 1937 Little Steel Strike. Finally, Chapter 3 ponders the lessons that these prior historic events may impart today. The listener ends the audio walk at Uber Advanced Technologies Group near 32nd Street. “I’m not a historian, but I like to think of how history dovetails into technology and how it affects us at different intersections of life—in other words, what technology is doing to us,” Sperry said. The YSU associate professor also organized the “Dreaming Youngstown” initiative in 2011, which aimed to create conversations about Youngstown’s possibilities. Sperry earned a bachelor’s in painting/sculpture and philosophy from Southern Methodist University and an master’s in sculpture/digital media from Indiana University. Detailed information on the audio walk is found at thewhyhere.com. Information is also available by calling the Office of Community Engagement and Events at 330-727-7514.
BRITE Energy completes training program
n BRITE Energy Innovators has announced that is was one of 88 graduates of the inaugural class of the Appalachia Nonprofit Resource Center’s Cohort Training Program. This intensive coaching initiative assists nonprofit participants in building skillsets essential to their long-term sustainability. The program, sponsored by the Appalachian Regional Commission and administered by Hargrove International, Inc., provided representatives from 53 organizations tailored instruction on how to navigate funding, operational and management challenges stemming from the COVID crisis. “This resource couldn’t have come at a more critical time for us,” said Sara Daugherty, director of partnerships at BRITE. “We experienced a substantial decrease in anticipated funding during the pandemic as we canceled events and provided rent forgiveness to tenants in our incubator, so learning new tools to diversify our fundraising will help us mature as an organization.” BRITE Energy Innovators is an energy incubator with offices in downtown Warren.
